Marker buoy



H. L. KIRBY MARKER BUOY May 1, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 29, 1955INVENTOR, HAROLD L. K/RBY. BY F ATTORNEX H. L. KIRBY MARKER BUOY May 1,1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 29, 1955 INVENTOR, HAROLD 1.. K/RBY.

ATTORNEX H. L. KIRBY MARKER BUOY May 1, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Aug.29, 1955 INVENTOR, HAROLD L. K/RBX ATTORNEX May 1, 1962 H. L. KlRBYMARKER BUOY Filed Aug. 29, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR, HAROLD L.K/RBY.

ATTORNEK located within the inner float cell.

3,031,693 MARKER BUOY Harold L. Kirby, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor toAirmarine Development Corporation, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation ofCalifornia Filed Aug. 29, 1955, Ser. No. 531,169 9 Claims. (Cl. 9-9)This invention relates to marker buoys and more particular to buoys formarking the location of underwater objects, such as mines and other lostor dangerous objects.

The marking of such objects is presently accomplished by buoysconstructed of some light material, such as balsa wood or styrofoam,which are carried underwater by a diver and released so that the buoywill rise to the surface at a point above the underwater object. Thepresent types of marker buoys have the disadvantage that the buoyance ofthese light materials must be overcome by the diver while underwater. Bythe present invention, a marker buoy is provided which has no buoyanteffect while being carried underwater by the diver and therefore, doesnot impede the divers operation. Once the diver has located theunderwater object to be marked, the marker buoy of the present inventioncan be secured to the object and inflated under water so that it willrise quickly to the surface of the water.

The marker buoy consists of an outer casing which carries a reel at oneend and contains an inner float cell which is inflated by piercing ahigh pressure gas cartridge The piercing mechanism for this cartridge isalso located within the cell and can be actuated underwater by the diverby simply gripping the outside of the casing and squeezing the piercingmechanism in order to force the cartridge against a piercing point.Thus, the marker buoy need not be inflated until after the ribboncarried by the reel has been tied to the underwater object which is tobe marked. Prior to being inflated, the marker buoy can be rolled upinto a compact package and carriedon the belt of the diver and thispackage can be quicklynnrolled by the diver once the underwater objectis located. The outer casing States Patent 6 has an opening with closuremeans so that an inflated cell can be replaced with an uninflated celland thus, after the casing has been utilized to mark an underwaterobject, it can quickly be placed in condition for use again. Since theinner float cells are constructed of low cost material, the marker buoyis inexpensive to operate.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a markerbuoy which can be carried by the diver in an uninflated condition andwhich can be quickly attached to an underwater object and inflated sothat the buoy will rise to the surface of the water.

Another object of the invention is to provide a marker buoy having aseparate inner float cell containing a gas cartridge which can be easilypierced by the diver at such time as an underwater object is located.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel piercingmechanism for piercing a gas cartridge, which mechanism has a handlewhich can be squeezed to force the cartridge against a piercing point.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a piercingmechanism for a gas cartridge, having a hollow, circular piercing membertapered at one end to form a piercing point which functions as a wedgeto open a passage in the cartridge.

Another further object of the invention is to provide a marking buoy formarking underwater objects which consists of a casing carrying a reel atone end and having a space for an inner float cell so that the casingcan be wound around the reel while the inner float cell is not inflatedto form a convenient, portable package and the cells can be easilyreplaced.

These and other objects of the invention not specifically set forthabove will become readily apparent to those skilled in the arts in theaccompanying description and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the marker buoy of this inventionready for attachment to the divers clothing.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the marker buoy of FIGURE 1 which isunrolled and ready to be inflated.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the back of the marker buoy of FIGURE1 showing the fastening loops provided in the reinforcing strap.

FIGURES 4, 4a and 41; comprise an expanded perspective view of theelements of the marker buoy, showing the casing and the inflationmechanism contained in the inner float cell.

FIGURE 5 is a vertical section along line 5-5 of FIGURE 4 showing themanner in which the inflation {nechanism is secured within the floatcell by an inner iner.

FIGURE 6 is a transverse vertical section along line 6--6 of FIGURE 5showing the bag containing the inflation mechanism.

FIGURE 7 is a vertical section along line 7-7 of FIGURE 6 showing theinflation cartridge and piercing mechanism prior to discharge of thecartridge.

FIGURE 8 is a vertical section along line 88 of FIGURE 2 illustratingthe manner in which the reel for the ribbon is contained within one endof the marker buoy.

FIGURE 9 is a horizontal section along line 9-9 of FIGURE 8 showing theribbon contained within the reel.

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view along line ltl-10 of FIGURE 9 showing theconstruction of the reel.

FIGURE 11 is an elevational view of the folded marker buoy attached tothe belt of the diver.

FIGURE 12 illustrates the manner in which the marker buoy is tied to anunderwater object and inflated by squeezing the piercing mechanism afterthe marker buoy has been unrolled.

FIGURE 13 is a vertical section similar to FIGURE 7 of a modification ofthe piercing mechanism and showing the cartridge after operation of thepiercing mechnism.

The embodiment of the invention chosen for illustration purposes isillustrated in FIGURE 1 wherein a marker buoy 14 is in folded conditionfor storage or for attachment to the body of a diver. The buoy 14 iscomprised of an outer casing 15 fabricated from a single piece of heavynylon cloth and folded along edges 16 and 17 to form front panels 18 and19 and a back panel 20. One element 21 of a zipper closure is stitchedto front panel 18 along seam 22 and extends from one end 23 of thecasing to a point spaced from the other end 24 of the casing. In asimilar manner, another element 25 of the zipper closure is secured tothe front panel 19 along seam 26 and extend the same distance as theelement 21. The zipper elements are opened and closed by an operator 27.A reinforcing strap 28 is seamed along the center line of back panel 20by seam Z9 and forms a loop 30 at end 23 of the casing, which loopcontains a ring 31. The end of strap 28 is inserted between the backpanel '20 and the front panels 18 and 19 and a seam 32 across the end 23fastens the loop, the end of the zipper element and the casing togetherand closes the end of the casing.

At the center of the back panel 20, the strap 28 is doubled to form aloop 33, which contains a ring 34 and is stitched to the back panel 2t}by seam. 35. The casing 15 at end 24 is folded over the end of strap 28and stitched thereto by seam 36 which passes completely around the openedge of the casing. The seam 36 also secures a folded end of end strap37 to back panel 20. The strap 37 passes around the open end 24 of thecasing and is stitched to front panels 18 and 19 by seam 38 so as toclose the space between the front panels extending from the end of thezipper elements to the end 24. Since the strap 37 is of less width thanthe casing, an end opening remains on each side of the strap. The end 24of the casing 15 is folded over double upon itself at each side andstitched in this position along seams 39 and 48 at opposite side. Thewidth of each fold is sufficent to form a rectangular container portionat the end 24 for a purpose later to be described.

Referring to FIGURE 4, the casing 15 is shown in a position similar toFIGURE 2 and the zipper operator 27 has been moved to end 23 in order toprovide an opening between front panels 18 and 19. A flexible nylontongue 41 has an end 42 which is stitched to back panel 28 along seam 43and the tongue is of such width and length that it can be inserted flatwithin the casing 15. The space within casing 15 between the seam 43 andand end 23 of the casing is designed to receive an inner float cell 45which can be constructed from a single piece of vinyl plastic material.This single sheet is folded along edge 46 and is then heat sealed alongthe three edges 47, 48 and 49 to form an air-tight cell defined by vinylplastic surfaces 58 and 51. Prior to the folding and heat sealing of thecell 45, an inner liner 52 of vinyl plastic is sealed to the inside ofsurface 50 of the cell at spaced points 53 along three edges of theliner 52. The remaining edge 54 adjacent folded edge 46, is not sealedto surface 50 and remains open to receive a muslin bag 55 containing aninflation unit. After the inner float cell 45 is sealed along itsedges,the bag 55 will be held within the liner 52 by the folded edge 46 andthe sealed points 53. The spaced points 53 and open edge 54 provideopenings between the liner 52 and the surface 58 so that gas can escapefrom the interior of the bag into the main portion of the inner floatcell. The bag 55 is formed of a double layer of muslin cloth which isfolded at edge 56 around an inflation cartridge 57 contained in apiercing mechanism 58 and the bag is then closed by stitching 59.

The piercing mechanism 58 is constructed of a single piece of metal,such as aluminum, which is bent at edges 60 and 61 to form an end 62 andtwo flared sides 63 and 64 are bent to receive the circular body 65 ofthe cartridge 57. The end 62 carries two pieces 66 and 67 which are benttowards the sides 63 and 64 to form a square container portion at theend of the mechanism. Also, the sides 63 and 64 carry flanges 68 and 69,respectively, which are adjacent to each other after the mechanism isformed. Between the flanges 68 and 69 is positioned one end of anoperating handle 70, which end is pivotally secured to the flanges by apin 71. The handle 70 has a curved end '72 which extends in a directionsubstantially parallel with the body of the eart ridge 57. A dome end 73of cartridge 57 projects beyond the sides 63 and 64 and engages a camsurface 74 formed in the handle 70. The opposite end 75 of cartridge 57is in the form of a reduced cylinder which is closed by a soft metalplug 76. The end 62 has a circular opening for receiving a circularpiercing member 77 which is comprised of a cylindrical body 78 having acentral opening 79 and a collar 88. An end 81 of member 77 is insertedin an opening in end 62 with a press fit to hold the collar 88 againstend 62. The other end of the piercing member has a slanted surface 81which terminates in a point 82 located adjacent to the soft metal plug76. Thus, it is apparent that if the piercing mechanism is gripped inthe hand and the handle end 72 pivoted downwardly by finger pressure,the handle portion 74 will engage the dome end 73 and will serve as acam to force the soft metal plug '76 against the pointed end 82 of thepiercing member 77. Because of its slanted shape, the pointed end 82will serve as a wedge to force the soft metal away from the piercingmember as the piercing member is forced into the soft metal plug toconnect opening 79 with the interior of the cartridge. Because of theease with which the piercing member penetrates, the handle 78 willquickly move the end 75 of the cartridge into engagement with collar 80.It is understood that any suitably shaped cam surface can be used forthe edge 74 of the handle as long as it transmits the downward motion ofthe handle 70 into an end thrust on the end of the cartridge 57. Sincethe gas in the cartridge is at high pressure, the gas will be throttledthrough opening 79 and pass into bag- 55. As illustrated in FIGURE 4,the bag 55 will be positioned in liner 52 so that handle 78 ispositioned toward end 23 of the casing 15.

As previously mentioned, the end 24 of the casing 15 is fabricated inthe form of a rectangular compartment which is just large enough toreceive a reel 83. This reel is preferably constructed of a rigid,plastic material and has a one side 83 which carries a projection 84 ateach corner thereof and opposite side 85 is secured to theseprojectionsby screws 86. A hub 87, also constructed of a rigid, plasticmaterial, has reduced ends 88 and 89 which project into openings in thesides 83' and 85, respectively, which serve as bearing upon which thehub 87 will rotate. Of course, the hub is positioned between the sides83 and 85 prior to securing of the side 85 to the projections 84. Anylon ribbon 90 is wound upon hub 87 and the end of the ribbon is tiedto the hub through a transverse opening 91. Also, the hub containsopenings 92 and 93 which are parallel to the hub axis and are for thepurpose of receiving a key or other device in order to rotate the huband wind the ribbon 90 upon the hub. The end of ribbon 90 extendsthrough the opening between end strap 37 and edge 16 of the casing andis secured to a ring 94 which is for the purpose of securing the ribbonto an underwater object. Prior to the use of the marker buoy, this endof the ribbon is kept from being extended by a breakaway thread 95 whichis tied between the ring 94 and one of the spacers 84. The end strap 37serves to retain the reel within the casing as the ribbon is unwound.

The assembly of the marker buoy will now be described in view of theprior description of the individual components and in view of theillustration in FIGURE 4. The reel mechanism 83 is first inserted in therectangular section at the end 24 of the casing 15 and the end of theribbon tied by thread 95. Thereafter, the tongue 41 is raised into theposition illustrated in FIG- URE 4 and the inner float cell 45,containing the cartridge 57 and piercing mechanism 58 within the bag 55,is inserted into the casing with the seam 48 of the inner cell adjacentend 23 of the casing and the seam 46 of the inner cell adjacent the seam43 for the tongue. The tongue 41 is then placed within the casing 15 toprevent the inner float cell from being damaged by the zipper closure orby the reel. The operator is moved toward end 24 of the casing to closethe casing and the marker buoy then has the appearance illustrated inFIGURES 2 and 3. In order to fold the marker buoy for storage orattachment to the diver, the reel end 24 of the casing 15 is foldedtowards the end 23 and the outer casing is wrapped about the reelmechanism to form a compact unit, as illustrated in FIGURE 1. In-thefolded condition, the rings 31 and 34 come together to receive a hook orother supporting member for the marker buoy and the strap 37 is wrappedaround the folded unit to serve as a reinforcing strap. Also, the endstrap 37 is sufliciently strong to retain the real mechanism within thecasing during the time the ribbon 90 is being unwound. In use, themarker buoy can be secured to a Book 96 carried by belt 97 worn by diver98, and since the marker buoy is not inflated, it will not interferewith the underwater operations of the diver. Once the diver has locatedan underwater object, such as an anchor 99 or a mine, he will remove themarker buoy from the hook 96 and unfold the buoy into the positionillustrated in FIG- URE 12. The end of ribbon 90 will hen be freed bybreaking the thread 95 so that the ribbon can be tied to the underwaterobject. After the ribbon is secured, the diver will grip the casing atthe point indicated by arrows 101) (see FIGURE 3) and because of theflexibility of the casing and the inner float cell, the diver is able tosqueeze the handle 70 in order to pierce the cartridge 57 with thepiercing mechanism 58.

Cartridge 57 can contain carbon dioxide or other suitable gas underpressure and a weight and pressure of the gas will be selected which issufficient to inflate the inner float cell to the proper pressure. It isunderstood that the size of cartridge will vary with the size of theinner float cell so that the cell will not be ruptured by too high a gaspressure. The carbon dioxide gas, expanding from the cartridge, will bevery cold and therefore the cartridge and piercing mechanism areenclosed in the double-layer muslin bag 55 to disburse the cold gas andprotect the vinyl plastic material of the inner cell and layer 52 fromdirect contact with the expanding gas so that the material will maintainits flexibility. The gas leaving bag will enter the main body of thecell through the openings between sealed points 53 and through theopening at edge 54 of layer 52. FIGURE 13 illustrates a modification inwhich the piercing mechanism 58 receives a smaller cartridge 57 of thesame diameter as cartridge 57. A dowel 161, having the same diameter asthe cartridge 57', is inserted between the edge 74 of handle and thedome 73' of the cartridge 57 so that the dowel will transmit the forceexerted by the handle to the cartridge. Thus, the same piercingmechanism can be used for various sizes of cartridges of the samediameter, depending upon the size of the inner float cell which is to beinflated. In FIGURE 13, the cartridge and piercing mechanism are in theposition assumed after the cartridge has been pierced by the diver.

After the inner float cell has been inflated by the diver, the markerbuoy can be released and will have suflicient buoyancy to unreel theribbon 9t and rise to the surface of the water. The marker buoy willgive a permanent indication of the underwater object since it can carrysuitable colored marking to be visible from aircraft and surfacevessels. The marker buoy is particularly suitable for use in landingoperations which require that the coast and landing beach be previouslysurvyed by divers to locate underwater mines which would be dangerous tothe landing operations and, of course, all of the elements of the markerbuoy can be made of non-magnetic material, so that it can safely be usedto mark magnetic mines.

By the present invention, there is provided a novel marker buoy havingan inner float cell which is easily actuated under water and which doesnot impede the divers operations until such time as the diver desires tomark an underwater object. The marker buoy is very inexpensive to usesince the inner float cell can be replaced and the casing and reel canbe used indefinitely. A novel, low cost piercing mechanism is providedfor piercing the cartridge in which the cartridge is slidably supportedand forced against the piercing pin by the camming action of the handle.Also, because of the wedging action of the cylindrical piercing point,the soft material at the end of the cartridge can be moved away quicklyby the force applied to the handle to provide a positive, quickoperation of the inflation process. Said piercing member 77 is held by apress fit in end 62, the piercing member is easily replaceable and theend 62 is of a proper thickness to hold the pin rigidly in positionduring piercing of the cartridge. Also, the piercing members can beeconomically manufactured from non-magnetic material, such as copper andaluminum alloys, and can be replaced after a single use if so desired.Of course, more than one of the marker buoys can be worn by a singlediver in order to mark a number of underwater objects. Because of theconstruction of the reel, it will not foul and the ribbon will onlyunwind from the reel as it is needed and only as the buoy is rising.While the use of ribbon serves to prevent fouling, it is understood thatnon-fouling reels can be provided which utilize various other types ofcord or line. The casing, flap and other straps are preferablyconstructed of nylon which will not be damaged by heavy seas and will beresistant to salt water. Also, the zipper elements can be suitablyfinished to be resistant to salt water. It is further understood thatthe edge 74 of the handle, which applies the pressure to the cartridge,can be varied in shape depending on the shape of the end of thecartridge so that the desired camming action will result. The materialsof which the components are constructed can be varied depending upon thesize and uses of the invention and any suitable piercing mechanism canbe utilized so long as it can be operated exteriorly of the casing.Various other modifications are contemplated by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, ashereinafter defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A marker buoy for marking underwater objects corn prising a pliantcasing, a reel contained in one end of said casing and having a linewound thereon extendable through said casing, an inflatable, pliantfloat cell trapped within said casing in both deflated and inflatedconditions, and an inflation unit completely contained Within said floatcell, said inflation unit having means operable exteriorly of saidcasing for inflating said cell and initiating movement of said casingand cell after said line has been attached to the underwater object andsaid casing being of such size as to permit said float cell to expandsufliciently to cause said casing to rise to the water surface.

2. A flexible marker buoy for marking underwater objects comprising acasing, an inflatible inner cell contained Within said casing in bothuninflated and inflated conditions, an inflation unit trapped withinsaid cell and operable exteriorly of said casing, and reel meanscontained within said casing and having a line extending through saidcasing for attachment to the underwater object, said inflation unitbeing operable to inflate said inner cell and said casing being of suchsize as to permit said inner cell to expand sufficiently to cause saidcasing to rise to the surface to indicate the position of the underwaterobject.

3. A marker buoy for marking the location of underwater objectscomprising a pliant casing, a pliant, inflatable float unit enclosedWithin said casing in both uninflated and inflated conditions, aninflation unit entirely contained within said float unit for inflatingsaid float unit said casing permitting said float unit to expandsufliciently to cause said casing to rise to the water surface, saidinflation unit being operable from the exterior of said casing, andmeans carried by said casing and extendable from said casing in order totie said casing to said underwater object.

4. A marker buoy as defined in claim 3 wherein said float unit comprisesa sealed cell and said inflation unit comprises a high pressure gascartridge and piercing mechanism for piercing said cartridge, saidpiercing mechanism having actuating means responsive to a force appliedexteriorly of said casing causing deformation of said casing and floatunit.

5. A marker buoy as defined in claim 4 having a container for saidcartridge and piercing mechanism constructed of gas disbursing material,said container protecting said cell from direct contact with cold gasexpanding from the cartridge after being pierced by the piercingmechanism.

6. A marker buoy as defined in claim 5 wherein said extendable meanspasses through an opening in the end of said casing, said extendablemeans comprising a reel contained within said casing and having a ribbonextending through said opening.

7. A marker buoy for marking underwater objects, comprising a pliantcasing having an opening therein, closure means for opening and closingsaid opening, means contained in one end of said casing and extendablethrough the one end of said casing, a pliant float cell insertable intosaid casing through said opening and trapped therein upon said openingbeing closed by said closure means, and inflation means contained withinsaid float cell and operable underwater from exteriorly of said casingfor inflating said float cell said casing permitting said float cell toexpand sufliciently to cause said casing to rise.

8. A marker buoy as defined in claim 7 wherein said extendable meanscomprises a rigid iiat reel located at said one end of said casing sothat the casing and float cell can be wrapped around said reel andformed into a compact package, said casing carrying two mounting ringspositioned to hold said casing in package form and provide an attachmentfor said package.

9. A marker buoy comprising a double cell tubular member having an innercell and an outer liner, the inner cell being air-tight and said memberbeing substantially flat When said inner cell is in uninfi-atedcondition, the outer liner having formed on one end thereof a box-likestructure, a substantially fiat reel carried in said box-like structureand having an extendable line, said structure having an opening throughwhich said line extends, and

an inflation unit carried in said inner cell and actuatable by asqueezing action whereby said unit can be actuated externally bysqueezing said outer liner, said outer liner permitting said inner cellto inflate sufliciently to cause said member to rise to the surfaceafter said line is tied to an underwater object.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,079,500 Lesourd Nov. 25, 1913 1,537,988 Dillinger May 19, 19251,677,450 Iden July 17, 1928 1,701,927 Lange Feb. 12, 1929 1,772,674Markus Aug. 12, 1930 2,192,450 Miller Mar. 5, 1940 2,216,871, Banks Oct.8, 1940 2,451,475 Craig et al. Oct. 19, 1948 2,463,191 MacKenzie Mar. 1,194-9 2,580,639 Baker Jan. 1, 1952 2,646,019 Chetlan July 21, 19532,675,143 1 Seemann Apr. 13, 1954 2,723,404 Krantz "Nov. 15, 19552,752,615 Parker July 3, 1956 2,830,309 Lawson Apr. 15, 1958 FOREIGNPATENTS 68,632 Austria Aug. 1, 1914

